I didn’t see this relatively late story elsewhere, so pardon me if it was posted…
Last manufacturer of audio recording tape closes
Well, damn. 
That’s “RIP” :smack:
Boy, I spent a lot of time in front of tape recorders for 40-odd years! The format served us well, until they came up with something better.
Here’s hoping that audio engineers are able to salvage the last of the tapes of music recorded from the '70s on, after manufacturers switched to using synthetic oil as a lubricant. All those tapes are deteriorating badly. Some are lost forever.
And here’s hoping I live long enough to witness the recording format better than digital.
Bio-audio. Think about it. You “inject” music into your blood stream, and it plays in your brain. Brings a new meaning to music junky! 
There’s a commotion in my living room. The reel-to-reel and cassette deck are weeping, the 8-track deck is stoned, and the two VCRs look dazed and confused. The turntable is playing soothing words of encouragement while the DVD player laughs at them all. 
So, vinyl officially outlives tape. Cool.
Damn looks like it’s time to chuck my Tascam 1/2 inch 8-track in the garbage. I still have a pile of Ampeg 456 reels though.
“Remember vinyl records? Then came 8-track tapes, then casettes, then CD’s? I’m not buying anything anymore until I get a manufacturer’s 100% guarantee that they’re not going to invent anything else ever again.” - Rita Rudner
The headline is “Last American audio tape manufacturer closes.” Are there no producers of audio tape in other lands?
There’s the German company that used to be called BASF, but I believe they are out of the tape business now, too. British EMITape is a thing of the past. I’m hard-pressed to think of another non-US tape manufacturer.